


Spiky

by FeatherQuilt88



Series: The Amber Dragon Anthology [16]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Adopted Children, Animals, Calligraphy, Canon-Divergent from Everything Else, Comedy, Cute, Cute Kids, Family Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Order of the White Lotus, Post-Canon for the Original Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:21:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27726768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeatherQuilt88/pseuds/FeatherQuilt88
Summary: Iroh and his adoptive daughter pay a visit to Piandao... with an unusual present.Just a cute little vignette.
Relationships: Iroh & Original Child Character(s), Iroh & Piandao (Avatar), Piandao & Fat (Avatar)
Series: The Amber Dragon Anthology [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988473
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14
Collections: The Piandao Library





	Spiky

**Author's Note:**

> For readers new to my "Amber Dragon" fanfic series (which is post-canon for the original series and canon-divergent from everything else)--in it, Iroh lives in the Fire Nation capital with Zuko, and has adopted my fancharacter, a little girl named Chiko. He considers Zuko his second child, and Chiko his third (with the late Lu-Ten of course being the first). Also of note for this fic, Iroh gained his old weight back very quickly after the summer of Sozin's comet, in this universe.

Iroh and Chiko stand in front of Master Piandao's mansion, smiling in their best dress-kimonos and freshly-combed topknots. The old Fire prince has decided to bring his daughter along for a visit to his White Lotus friend, since they and Zuko have been on a short tour of Shu-Jing Village below.

Iroh cheerfully greets Piandao's butler (who opens the door with his normal placid expression), handing him his host-gift: a pretty vase of lilies. Chiko, meanwhile, holds hers--a rather muddy box--up proudly. "Bapa said you were a master swordsman, Sir Piandao!" she grins, as Iroh's friend himself strides up. "So I brought you a new pet! See, he's got lotsa little swords of his own all over him, like a spiky little gumnut!"

"I'm afraid she insisted, Piandao," Iroh chuckles, smiling rather apologetically at the taller man, eighteen years or so his junior. "She found this little fellow rummaging through his Majesty's picnic basket this morning, and wouldn't stop talking about what a fine gift he would make for a famous swordmaster."

A large, bristly, but surprisingly friendly hedgehog peeks out of Chiko's box, sniffing with its big muddy nose. It has a slight limp, hence why it apparently was abandoned by its fellows.

Piandao's handsome, goateed face nearly cracks with a laugh--and good-natured fondness for the animal as well. "Fat," he grins, clearly never giving up a chance to mess with his stuffy servant; "take our new friend out to the garden, please. I'm sure it will be a most comfortable habitat for him."

Fat holds back a grimace as he tries to keep the muddy box off his simple, but immaculate, servant robes. Chiko beams up at Piandao, so happy he apparently likes the cute (if hard-to-hold) creature as much as she did, and will be a good owner for him. Her little face falls in confusion, though, at the words she overheard.

"Why did he call his butler 'fat,' Bapa?" she tugs on her guardian's own robe and whispers. " _You're_ chubbier than _him!_ " Piandao's manservant does have a potbelly, but it's not quite as impressively big and round as her adoptive father's, Chiko thinks.

"Shhh, Chiko, it's a _name,_ " Iroh whispers back half-admonishingly, patting her shoulder. He has that awkward, "you-are-very-cute-but-it-is-time-for-you-to-hush-up-now" grin of parental embarrassment, for the second time that day. Iroh and Chiko (and the whole rest of the family, for that matter) love to tease about the old teamaker's stupendous tum, and "fat" is not an insulting word amongst them. But Iroh hopes that the butler--who would not have known this--was not offended, if he overheard. Thankfully, Fat is already well on his way to the garden wing.

"You know," Piandao bends down friendlily to Chiko, "I'm not only a master swordsman--I'm also a master calligrapher! And your father told me in his letter that _you_ are an aspiring little student of the art," he grins at them both. "Would you like to come practice in the study?"

Chiko squeals with excitement, nearly tripping over her robe-hem. Iroh chuckles fondly, following his friend and his bouncing little girl into the drawing-room. He is so happy that his third child will get to learn calligraphy from Piandao, just as his second child learned swordsmanship from him. Perhaps he'll make some refreshing lemon-blossom tea for himself and Fat later, as they watch them write.


End file.
